Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia, by Samuel Johnson

Chapter XIII

Rasselas Discovers the Means of Escape.

The Prince now dismissed his favourite to rest; but the narrative of wonders and novelties filled
his mind with perturbation. He revolved all that he had heard, and prepared innumerable questions for the morning.

Much of his uneasiness was now removed. He had a friend to whom he could impart his thoughts, and whose experience
could assist him in his designs. His heart was no longer condemned to swell with silent vexation. He thought that even
the Happy Valley might be endured with such a companion, and that if they could range the world together he should have
nothing further to desire.

In a few days the water was discharged, and the ground dried. The Prince and Imlac then walked out together, to
converse without the notice of the rest. The Prince, whose thoughts were always on the wing, as he passed by the gate
said, with a countenance of sorrow, “Why art thou so strong, and why is man so weak?”

“Man is not weak,” answered his companion; “knowledge is more than equivalent to force. The master of mechanics
laughs at strength. I can burst the gate, but cannot do it secretly. Some other expedient must be tried.”

As they were walking on the side of the mountain they observed that the coneys, which the rain had driven from their
burrows, had taken shelter among the bushes, and formed holes behind them tending upwards in an oblique line. “It has
been the opinion of antiquity,” said Imlac, “that human reason borrowed many arts from the instinct of animals; let us,
therefore, not think ourselves degraded by learning from the coney. We may escape by piercing the mountain in the same
direction. We will begin where the summit hangs over the middle part, and labour upward till we shall issue out beyond
the prominence.”

The eyes of the Prince, when he heard this proposal, sparkled with joy. The execution was easy and the success
certain.

No time was now lost. They hastened early in the morning to choose a place proper for their mine. They clambered
with great fatigue among crags and brambles, and returned without having discovered any part that favoured their
design. The second and the third day were spent in the same manner, and with the same frustration; but on the fourth
day they found a small cavern concealed by a thicket, where they resolved to make their experiment.

Imlac procured instruments proper to hew stone and remove earth, and they fell to their work on the next day with
more eagerness than vigour. They were presently exhausted by their efforts, and sat down to pant upon the grass. The
Prince for a moment appeared to be discouraged. “Sir,” said his companion, “practice will enable us to continue our
labour for a longer time. Mark, however, how far we have advanced, and ye will find that our toil will some time have
an end. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance; yonder palace was raised by single stones, yet you
see its height and spaciousness. He that shall walk with vigour three hours a day, will pass in seven years a space
equal to the circumference of the globe.”

They returned to their work day after day, and in a short time found a fissure in the rock, which enabled them to
pass far with very little obstruction. This Rasselas considered as a good omen. “Do not disturb your mind,” said Imlac,
“with other hopes or fears than reason may suggest; if you are pleased with the prognostics of good, you will be
terrified likewise with tokens of evil, and your whole life will be a prey to superstition. Whatever facilitates our
work is more than an omen; it is a cause of success. This is one of those pleasing surprises which often happen to
active resolution. Many things difficult to design prove easy to performance.”